Using a macro makes pdfetex quits and exits with bad status

[Christopher Dimech]

> Sent: Friday, June 25, 2021 at 5:57 PM
> From: "Eli Zaretskii" <eliz@gnu.org>
> To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>
> Cc: gavinsmith0123@gmail.com, help-texinfo@gnu.org
> Subject: Re: Using a macro makes pdfetex quits and exits with bad status
>
> > From: Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>
> > Cc: gavinsmith0123@gmail.com, help-texinfo@gnu.org
> > Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:42:10 +0200
> >
> > It would be a great improvement to have a standard on how we can test
> > newer versions of texinfo without affecting the stable version we normally
> > use.  It makes it very difficult for me to help out as a tester.
>
> Your suggestion of help is appreciated, but help-texinfo is not about
> that.  It's about helping _users_ of Texinfo in using the _released_
> versions.

Could take two or more years for a release version.  Would have to find some 
other
way of scrutinising texinfo, so as not to look as a demanding user.


> > > > Why can't I have multiple versions of the program and run the ones I
> > > > want?
> > >
> > > You can, but you should know very well what you are doing, and how the
> > > different parts, in particular Texinfo and TeX, work together and what
> > > each one of them expects to find where.  If you don't know these
> > > details, my best recommendation is not to do that, as you will be
> > > facing an uphill battle.
> >
> > I am quite sure you have more experience to be able to tell us exactly
> > how to set things up in the case of development versions.
>
> Actually, no.  My help in testing development versions is limited to
> running the extensive test suite.  If Gavin wants me to test specific
> aspects, he gives precise instructions and I follow them.  Otherwise,
> I always install the new version replacing the old one.
>
> I only know a little about the internals because in some distant past
> I ported TeX/Web2C to a non-Posix platform, that's all.  Based on that
> vague memory, I can tell you that you would need to futz with
> TEXINPUTS, but that's about all I can tell.
>
> Again, using such a dual installation is not recommended unless you
> have a lot of free time and don't need to actually do something useful
> with Texinfo except tinker with it.

Don't have free time, but waste a lot of time tinkering.  Most of my problems 
are
not really my problems though.

> > Am I the only one who gets in all this trouble, I ask ?
>
> Most probably, you are one of a very few.
>
> > > Why not simply install the development version instead the one you
> > > have already?  It will definitely be simpler to set up and use than
> > > what you are going through.
> >
> > So I forget about using prefix in configure?  Is that what you are saying?
> > I would certainly require additional systems in case development versions
> > screw my working setup.
>
> First, the development version is quite stable at this point: Gavin
> has already released 2 pretest versions.  And Texinfo is stable in
> general, even in early stages of development of the next release,
> because the language is fairly complete, and so changes are relatively
> minor.
>
> And if worse comes to worst, there's always "make uninstall".
>
> So my best advice is simply configure and install the snapshot as if
> it were a released version, yes.

Would need to provide more detailed information so others can figure out
where things could be located for Tex.

Saying "make TEXMF=/your/texmf install-tex" is not detailed enough to make sure
the texinfo installation works.  Got to see the installation and setup for tex
and provide information to the user.  Otherwise everything becomes a mystery.